Guides
Guides, news and ideas on guides.
The ten scams that target store owners (not customers), and how to spot them
Phishing from fake Stripe emails, overpayment refund scams, supplier fraud, domain-renewal letters in the post. The scams targeting you, not your buyers, and how the security baseline stops most of them.
Influencer marketing, honestly: how to run it without wasting money
The follower-count lie, how to vet creators in 30 minutes, realistic pricing, the four deal structures beyond flat-fee, attribution that's good enough, and when to skip the channel entirely.
Guest posting for ecommerce: what still works and what's a waste of time
Real editorial placements drive traffic and authority. Pay-for-play link farms don't. How to tell the difference, how to pitch, and the alternatives (podcasts, creators, HARO) that often work better.
Converting social traffic into website sales: the feed-to-purchase chain
Social engagement doesn't equal revenue. The four-gate journey from feed to checkout, where most stores lose buyers (landing mismatch, six-click paths, unattributed traffic), and the setup that fixes each.
Ecommerce features that matter vs the ones sales pages push
Table stakes, differentiators, and marketing vanity. What your store genuinely needs, what's worth investing in, and which 'must-have' features are padding the feature list.
Alternatives to legacy and niche cart platforms: OSCommerce, Zen Cart, Selz, and the rest
If you are on a self-hosted legacy cart (OSCommerce, Zen Cart, OpenCart, PrestaShop) or a niche hosted one (Shopwired, Selly, Selar, Sellix, Shift4Shop), the modern alternative is usually embedded commerce on the site you already have.
Commerce API use cases: seven builds you can't do with a widget
When a storefront widget isn't the right shape: SaaS embedded commerce, multi-surface catalogues, white-label stores, custom UX, AI agents, custom BI. Plus code examples from the Shoprocket JS SDK.
Google Shopping: the feed, the free listings, the paid ads, and when it actually pays off
Google Shopping is free listings + paid ads, both fed from one Merchant Center product feed. When it pays off, what to fix first, and how Shoprocket plugs into it.
Selling online courses: the honest walkthrough and when it's a bad idea
Most 'sell a course!' advice skips the parts that kill first-time launches. Who courses actually work for, price ranges, cohort vs self-paced, where to host, and the launch math with real numbers.
How to accept Bitcoin payments in e-commerce (honestly)
Three options, one default, zero hype. What actually works when 1% of your shoppers want to pay in crypto.
Twenty things you can actually do today, for free, that lift sales
Not the usual '55 tips' padded list. Twenty specific, same-day, zero-cost actions across product pages, SEO, email, and technical hygiene. Pick five and ship them this week.
Twelve ecommerce marketing mistakes that quietly compound over years
Not the obvious ones. The subtle mistakes (discounting by default, acquiring before retention, measuring reach not conversion) that compound into slow, unprofitable growth. Twelve, with the fix for each.